Its slogan is sanctioned on Russia... A German summit with the leaders of Central Asian countries

 In a first for a member state of the European Union, the German summit opened with the chiefs of five Central Asian nations pleading with them to uphold the sanctions against Russia.

The presidents of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan were received by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

Following allegations that it is assisting its Russian partner to evade the sanctions, Kazakhstan's president, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, declared that his nation respects the Western sanctions regime placed on Moscow in response to the war with Ukraine.

"Kazakhstan confirmed unequivocally that it will respect the sanctions regime," Tokayev said after meeting with the German Chancellor. He added that "there should be no concerns on the German side about possible measures to circumvent the sanctions regime."

For his part, Schulz praised the efforts made by Kazakhstan to stop circumventing the sanctions imposed on Russia. The German Chancellor said it was "good and useful" for the Kazakh government to take countermeasures.

Through the summit, Germany aims to strengthen its presence in the former Soviet republics and urge them to adhere to Western sanctions on Russia, amid fears that some of those republics are helping Moscow evade Western economic sanctions.

Exports from Central Asian countries to Russia have increased, significantly in some cases, since the Russian-Ukrainian war began in February 2022. This rise fuels fears that Western companies are using these countries to evade sanctions imposed on Russia.

The Russian-Ukrainian war forced the five former Soviet republics in Central Asia to adopt a balanced position.

These countries, which maintain close political, economic, and military relations with Moscow, demonstrate their diplomatic neutrality, and at the same time are keen to establish good relations with Russia - the former tutelage power - and with the West.

But Kazakhstan - a close economic and military ally of Russia with which it shares the world's longest continuous land border (more than 7,500 km) - is regularly accused of helping its neighbor import certain goods in violation of sanctions.

Source: Agencies